Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-10-28

public power. His private life was
unstained, his public services unques-
tionably great, and his memory will
be cherished with affection and re-
spect by his grateful countrymen. On
the day of his funeral this department
will be closed for all public business
and will be draped i'll mourning for
ten days thereafter. The diplomatic
and consular Offices of the United
States in foreign countries will be di-
rected to make proper expressions of
the public's sorrow experienced by the
death of Washburne. Signed.
Il. +. BAYARD,
Secretary of State.
Against Powderly.
ATTEMPT TO RE-ORGANIZE THE KNIGHTS
OF LABOR BY THE DIssENTERs AT
CHICAGO.
CHICAGO, Oct. 24.-The dissenters
from the action taken at the Mime
apolis convention have declared open
war with the Executive Board Of the
Knights of Labor, and have issued
their declaration of independence. On
their return from the convention,
about thirty-five delegates, represent
ing thirteen States, stopped in Chica
go and determined to bring about Il
reorganization of the order. They
selected ~ provisional committee of
five members, of which Charles ii.
Sicb was made Secretary, and II long
communication was drafted at Secre
tary Sieb's Office to-day, and will be
forwarded tomorrow in circular form
to the Knights of Labor all over the
country. The circular starts out rs
follows:
To the Rank and File of the Order of
knights Of Labor:-Indignant at the
usurpatiOn of power and the gross VIC
lation of the laws of the order by
those high in authority, Disguised
with those whose loyalty to the pres
ent ring has been gained by the pick
ings they received as reward for
their services, incensed at the fawning
sycophants who crawl on their knees
in slavish submission to the most cor
rupt, most hypocritical, most auto
cratic and tyrannical clique that has
ever controlled any labor organiza-
ton, we therefore affirm as our motto
that When bad men combine the
good must associate, else they will
fall, one by one, an unpitied class in a
contemplate struggle" We assert
that the hour has come when, as
honest men and women, we must de-
clare ourselves independent of those
who have abused the confidence re-
posed in them by our order. Our
working men and women demand
that we at once re-organizc the order
of Knights of Labor, on n basis which
will secure an autonomy of the trades
and the sovereignty of districts in all
pertaining to their trade and local af-
fairs, and to prevent it from being
used in the future as machine to fill
the Golfers of designing and unscrupu-
lous men, as is now being done 10y
those in power.
The circular then goes on at great
length to give reasons which have
" compelled this serious action on our
part" They charge that the general
offices have become the luxuriant
haunts for men whose chief aim is to
benefit self pecuniarily and otherwise,
that there has been for more than a
year conspiracy for the purpose of
holding salaried positions in and I'M
der the General Assembly; that this
conspiracy had used the secret chan
nels and funds of the Order to manu-
facture sentiment for certain men,
bers and against others, that the Or
ganizers' commissions have been re-
fused to members known to disagree
with the ring; that the District and
Local Assemblies have been suspended
or expelled for opposing the policy of
the conspiratOrs; that the record of
the general office has been fixed so as
to rule ont or admit rs the case might
be of benefit to the General Assembly
representatives that many thousands
of dollars of the Orders funds have
been illegally expended frequently
against the earnest protests of honest
and law-abiding members; that honest
men devoted to the cause of labor
have made the scapcgoats of blunder-
ing high officials and driven in dis
grace from the movement; that ef-
forts made by Assemblies to better
their condition have been strangled
by the ring; that the boycott has
been used to injure the labor press
union establishments and the pro-
ducts of Knights of Labor and union
labor for the sole purpose of "down-
ing" the workingmen and women who
could not be used by the cpnspirators
The constitution has been altered in
an illegal manner. Measures, mimi
cal to the order at large have been
railroaded into law" War has been
waged by the administration rings
against trades unions and trades dis
tricts in spite of the orders oblipa-
ton to extend a helping hand to all
branches OF honest toll" Nearly
every important strike or lockout in
which the general officers interferred
has been lost as 4 result of this blup.
dering and stupidity arbitrary policy
on the part of the administration